An evolved packet system (EPS) may include a mobility management entity (MME). The MME is responsible for the mobility management of a control plane and is configured to manage user contexts and mobility status and allocate a temporary identity to a user. A home subscriber server (HSS) may include a home subscriber server (HSS) and/or a home location register (HLR). The HSS is configured to store subscription information for users. A PDN GW is a user plane anchor between a 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) access system and a non-3GPP access system and is also an interface for terminating the connection with an external packet data network (PDN). The core network of the EPS supports not only the access of a user equipment (UE) that uses a 3GPP access technology but also the access of a UE that uses non-3GPP technologies, such as wireless local area network (WLAN), code division multiple access (CDMA), and worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX). The access authentication and authorization of the UEs that use non-3GPP technologies are implemented by a 3GPP, authorization, authentication, and accounting (AAA) server. After receiving a non-3GPP access request from a UE, the AAA server obtains subscription data of the user from the HSS; after authenticated and authorized, by the AAA server, the UE is allowed to access the EPS network.
In the EPS, the network allocates a PDN GW to a PDN connection that is directed to an access point name (APN) and initiated by the UE. The PDN GW information may be subscribed statically or generated dynamically and stored on the HSS. The PDN GW information is used to provide signaling and bearer handover anchors for the UE to perform handover between the 3GPP access and the non-3GPP access.
When the PDN GW information generated dynamically is changed, the serving GPRS support node (SGSN), the MME and/or the AAA server updates the PDN GW information stored on the HSS. In the conventional art, the process of updating the PDN GW information includes: When the network re-selects a PDN GW for the PDN connection of the UE, the MME, the SGSN, and/or the AAA server needs to update the PDN GW information stored on the HSS; or when the PDN connection of the UE is released or detached from the network, the MME, the SGSN, and/or the AAA server needs to delete the PDN GW information stored on the HSS. The MME, the SGSN, and/or the AAA server sends an update request that carries corresponding APN information to the HSS; the HSS finds a corresponding record through the APN, and updates the PDN GW information in the record of the HSS by checking whether a PDN GW parameter is carried in the update request.
From the preceding process, it can be inferred that an international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI) of the user and an APN corresponding to a PDN GW to be updated are carried in the update request that the MME, the SGSN, and/or the AAA server sends to the HSS. After receiving the update request, the HSS finds a corresponding PDN GW according to the IMSI and the APN, and updates the PDN GW. However, an APN parameter is a character string and includes a 63-byte string like “Label1.Label2.Label3”. Therefore, the speed of matching the searched subscription data of the user by the HSS according to the APN parameter is lower. In addition, the MME, the SGSN, and/or the AAA server updates the PDN GW information on the HSS in many cases. Therefore, frequent update operations are performed, thus affecting the performance of the HSS.